Julius

Don't think the Switch is targeted at the same demographic as, say, the DS was. Definitely seems to be a crossover in target audience between this and GO, which was something new with a lot of nostalgia, and to be honest, there were plenty more young adults/adults playing GO when compared to children (of course). Switch seems to be working towards the same demographic, so all being said online chat being on a phone won't really tarnish anyone's experience. Smart move in my mind.

And here's an excellent read by Chris Kohler (WIRED) on why the Switch is more for Nintendo fans than it is anyone else. Have to say, it's a great article, and it's hard to disagree.

Right then. This is the year I get into FE I guess! Going to try picking this, Awakening and Fates to try to get somewhat up to speed for next year's Switch release!

That FE Direct got me pumped even more for the Switch. A game confirmed for this year and next. It's almost like they've learned a lesson from the Wii U :P But seriously, Warriors being on the Switch and N3DS was totally unexpected, but come to think of it, it does make sense. For example, Pokémon Sun and Moon were catalogued as having much more rendering issues on the 2/3DS when compared with the N3DS line. Could Stars be our first cross-platform main series game with a Switch and N3DS release? I'm sure it would certainly appease fans who aren't at all too keen to jump onto the Switch just yet. Now time to wait for the next Direct announcement; hoping they play the lead-up (and post-release) of the Switch like how Sun and Moon were handled. A large mixture of Directs, trailers and announcements would be great for both Nintendo and fans alike, so all eyes crossed on that one!

I'd be all for that. Never picked up an FE game myself yet, but planning to change that with the Switch, and if I'm into it, dig back into the DS/3DS games for sure. Ike's my main on every version of Smash I've played so far though, so I'm sure I'd love it :P

And the news industry too. When was the last time you picked up a newspaper/watched the news and didn't hear mention of war, murder, sexism, racism, etc.? These are just the times we live in, I'm afraid. I do wish we could say otherwise, but it's not all bad. Anywho, on a cheerier note: if we get GameCube VC games for the Switch, when do you think we'll have this announced? E3?

I think Sheikah was referring to the button/stick layout on the Wii U Pro Controller; as opposed to other controllers (such as the Switch Pro, DS4 and Xbone controller and many others) that controller had the sticks in an awkward position (outwards, far apart and towards the triggers) as opposed to closer, central and just below the menu buttons. Especially the right hand side, at least, where the stick is above the buttons (the only home console of that generation to do so iirc), in stark contrast to other controllers. Grey one is still available from the Nintendo UK store.

The Switch Pro Controller looks very similar to the Xbox One controller in my opinion, at least in layout. Aesthetically, it looks a little rounder. If it's anywhere near as comfortable as any of the recent Xbox controllers (I have a PS4, but for long play sessions I find the DS4 quite uncomfortable) and makes smart use of the gyroscope and Rumble HD, I think that's a fair price. I've only heard good things about it from the experiences people have had with it so far, so here's to hoping.

Star Wars; not Battlefield...

Battlefront 2 at the end of this year. If that thing has a campaign and you can take it on the go, it could make for a great experience, and it could certainly capitalise on VIII like the latest iteration did VII. Not to mention that it seems like Nintendo used to have a great relationship with LucasArts, and haven't really had any connection to Star Wars mainstream games (i.e. Not LEGO-related) for quite a while now. Shame that LucasArts closed up shop, considering that EA have a monopoly on the franchise's gaming rights right now...and will do for quite a while. Switch, with its portability, could definitely make for a nice variant of the game!

The fact that we aren't getting the case, map or coin is exactly why I cancelled my Limited Edition pre-order. I'm sure the soundtrack will probably be releasing separately, and the statue? Meh. EDIT: First BotW UK TV advert (Nintendo Switch)

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Probably one of the most criminally underrated Nintendo fans on YouTube, Arlo has a GREAT video on the Switch.

Looking ahead to Gen VIII, seeing that's where I think we'll start to see the major changes to the franchise to reflect the change in hardware (to the Switch). Xenoblade 2, Skyrim and Breath of the Wild are all beautiful, massive open world games, with the latter two being ports from other consoles and X2 perhaps being in the works for the Wii U originally (seeing as its scheduled for this year). Can definitely see the next Gen of Pokémon making use of this and the Unreal Engine 4 :P

Yeah, I still need to pick up Hyrule Historia myself, need to add that to my list of things to do pre-BOTW! As for guides, I've heard and seen nothing but great things about Prima's Nintendo guides, so I think I'll definitely have to try to pick that up too! Also, is this the book you're referring to? The Art and Artifacts book? Seems like it has a neat limited edition too :P EDIT: the game's price has already dropped down from RRP (though I question that it is an RRP at all at this point) of £59.99 to £49.99 on Amazon. Hopefully the first of a few drops in the next six weeks!

Exactly! Looking at those images and then the game models, when compared to other projects at least, you could easily get away with saying that the art is based on the models or vice versa, they're that well realised!

Man, all of this art is absolutely mesmerising. The colour palette, tones, shadowing...it's great, and absolutely makes me feel like this game could easily pass for a Ghibli project - which by all means means that I love it and want it now. As for this particular character, it does make the question of timeline an even more perplexing one. My first notion is to go with this game being set after Wind Waker in the Adult Era timeline, simply because it would absolutely make sense for the Zora to further evolve into other variants; likewise, if this is set before Ocarina of Time, it could be the case that this variant was wiped out by the lighter variants we see in that game. Or, perhaps, it simply has something to do with the water environment, like how we get different colours of the same fish in different climates of water? Every part of me wants to say that this is Darunia (or, adversely, his ancestor who used the megaton hammer against Volvagia), but it's probably a new character. Shame...I wanted to see him dance I really like how Zelda looks in this game, and how she seems very characteristic - in the above image, at least - of the modern day heroine we've seen revived recently in blockbuster films and TV shows; as a result - even though you'd think it would make sense considering how much Sheikah focus we have in this game - I don't think we'll get to see Sheik in this game. Gosh darn it this Master Edition keeps coming back to haunt me. The Americans get the best Edition of the game AND the best box art. As I was saying before, the comparisons to Ghibli seem very fair thus far, and the art on the back of the box seems to drive this home. I can absolutely see some Princess Mononoke when looking at those images, and particularly the one with Link taking aim at a wild boar.

Definitely getting an Overwatch vibe when it comes to the art design here, which isn't a problem at all for me. That game looked great! Definitely feels like this could be Nintendo's next easily accessible console fighter, after Smash, of course. If it gets a good enough following and smart online functionality, I could definitely see this being Nintendo's next portal into eSports.

MY BODY IS READY // Yeah, I'd cancel the newer one, seeing as that should be the one lower down the pecking order!

Yeah, thought I edited my post to mention that but it doesn't seem like I did. Whoops. Comparing it to the box presented during the Livestream, I'd say that the box art (and height of the box) cuts off in the above image directly above the Switch logo; I think your comparison in size reflects that quite well, SCG!

My bad, thanks HoT!

"Help me" or "Look behind you" seem like fun options too!

I know, right?! I would have been tempted to import the US Master Edition, but I'd rather play the game on launch day than having to wait any longer than we already have to!

Couldn't find a still from the Treehouse Livestream, but here they are in comparison to Wii U cases:

If I recall, we saw the Breath of the Wild Switch case during the Treehouse Livestream, and that was rather thin, so PSP-sized seems to be the case.